ddd_dungeonsfandomcom-20200213-history
Halfdan Hroriksson
Halfdan Hroriksson A Summary Halfdan is a young man looking to become stronger in the world with great determination in order to fulfill his current purpose in life. Skilled in the bow, he is out to become a warrior to one day kill Toke and his entire crew to avenge the death of his half brother Harold, who was killed by Toke, his nidhoggr step brother. Having been through a slight journey at the age of fifteen, his coming of age awaits him with new challenges in mind. A Heroes' Humble Beginnings Halfdan was from the continent of ___ and was born a slave by Hrorik, the chieftain of the lands, and Derdiru, the chieftain's sole concubine. His life was filled with tragedy as his freedom was marked by his mother's last wish for him to be the prince he was meant to be, before Derdiru agreed to accompany Hrorik on his death ship. Despite having his half brother, Harald, killing Derdiru as was agreed upon, the two mourning brothers bonded together in the months to come. Halfdan would know life again as Harald and Sigrid treated him as an actual brother. Alas, tragedy struck again as Toke, a beserker and the firstborn of Gurnhild, Hrorik's second wife, appeared to ambush and kill Harald, but not managing to catch Halfdan with Harald's sacrifice. Halfdan ran away promising to exact revenge alongside Einar who witnessed one of Toke's men confess. He swore to become stronger and avenge Harald. Months later, Halfdan went with a viking crew East and was captured by gnolls. His story with the heroes begins here. Halfdan's Childhood In-depth Halfdan stopped chopping the tree for tonight’s feast. After all, it was when the chieftain was returning back to his lands. He began to pick up the logs until his mother, Derdiru, came to watch him and look out over towards the bay where Hrorik, the chieftain, would return. Gunhild, Hrorik’s wife, would quickly find Derdiru to put her back to work. After all, both were thralls; they were slaves to the clan and its warriors. It wasn’t long until Halfdan returned to the longhouse with enough firewood before joining the gathering of housecarls, freefolk, and thralls awaiting Hrorik’s return with abundant loot and bounty from the gnoll lands. What Halfdan would hear, however, were gasps. The far off longship in the distant was slow, with a white flag hoisted up. It was a bad omen. When the longship finally landed, it was not Hrorik but Ube, a housecarl who was old and experienced. He looked for Harold, Hrorik’s eldest son, to tell him of the news. The crowd was forcibly dispersed and Halfdan returned to the Longhouse. An hour passed until a meeting of the housecarls and important males were gathered into the hall. Derdiru was there as well as Halfdan to serve the freefolk and to, more importantly, hear of what was there to say. Halfdan in particular was not invited nor important, but was brought in by Derdiru. It wasn’t until long that Harold came forth and drank, before uttering the words that he will now begin the tale of Hrorik’s raid. In short, Hrorik would join a dozen other chieftains against a huge raid to push inland against the gnolls for riches untouched by the vikings. It was a good promise of wealth and fame that Hrorik took. However, it was soon a trap. Several miles behind them, horns were sounded and smoke could be seen; their ships were burning. The warriors rushed back only to be ambushed by several hundred gnolls. Hrorik’s band in particular consisted of twenty men, alongside a hundred or two more of their warriors. A shield wall was formed but to little avail; the gnolls were between them and their ships, as well as more gnolls coming from inland towards them. The warriors pushed, but Hrorik knew the odds. He took his twenty and broke through the line by himself, allowing many of his clan to escape. This, however, drew attention to a great gnoll chieftain whom came to stop this small break in the lines. He challenged Hrorik Strongaxe with a maul and shield. Hrorik was not suited to fighting against a maul, but nonetheless outmatched the gnoll. He had no time, however, to waste on him. Hrorik swung with all his force and hit into the shield, smashing it into pieces as well as well into the gnoll’s arm. His axe, however, was stuck into the gnoll and the shield. In that second and with a howl, the maul the gnoll had smashed down onto Hrorik’s side then chest. His warriors retrieved him, but were felled themselves by the arrows of the gnolls. Only Hrorik and a dozen warriors would make it back onto the longship, while the rest of the fleet caught aflame. Harold would end his tale and would begin again, stating that “Hrorik’s wishes will now be stated. Half his fortunes shall go to Harold, a third to his soon to be widow Gunhild, a third as a dowry for Sigrid, and a fifth for his death ship. Derdiru is to accompany him alongside his death ship. The room grew quiet until an aye was heard from the crowd, and several more solemn ayes before more silence. However, to Halfdan, he was utterly shocked. His mother and the only person to show him love, and loved, was going to die within a week for no reason. Halfdan would soon be visited by Derdiru later on in the night. She would take him to Hrorik himself. Hrorik would beckon the two to come closer, with Gunhild scorning the two for being in the will. Hrorik would ask Derdiru there to accompany him to Valhalla in his death ship, to which Derdiru refused. She retorted, however, that she would obliged on one condition. Their son Halfdan would be legitimized. A Hard Truth In the coming days, Halfdan would learn the truth; he was the son of Derdiru, a princess of a far off lands not commonly raided, with his father being Hrorik. This, he already knew, but would learn to the greater extent of how the two would meet. She was captured and almost raped, but was stopped by Hrorik, who was nearby. He killed the man who captured Hrorik and promised her safety, as she was of noble blood and her family would pay handsomely as a ransom. A few days later, Derdiru’s father and bethrothed were killed by attemping a counter attack to try and save her. Derdiru’s only chance of being freed quickly shattered as there was no one left to pay her ransom. She would slowly learn of Hrorik’s way, and became his personal servant. He fell in love with her beauty, and asked one day to sleep with her. Seeing that she had little chance to refuse, she agreed. Slowly, the two loved each other, but that was a fleeting dream. Hrorik would marry Gunhild, who held lands not too far away and whose father was nearly at an age where he could die at any moment. She told Halfdan this, as this was where Gunhild began ruining her life, assigning her chores and being scorned by Gunhild for many nights Hrorik spent with Derdiru and not Gunhild. Years passed as Harold and Sigrid, the two twins who was Hrorik’s children before he met Derdiru and Gunhild, aged and grew alongside Halfdan. It would make sense now why Hrorik wanted Derdiru to accompany him to his deathship. It would make sense why Derdiru would accept. She told Halfdan that he is the royal blood that he is meant to be, and to be freed for it. She told him that she loved him. She told him goodbye. Harold took his new half brother and showed him love instead of hatred; he treated Halfdan with respect and had him help build the deathship. When it was time, several animals were sacrificed in the deathship and Halfdan watched as his mother entered, as she waved a last goodbye. Harold took her inside before a quick slice was heard. Harold left the room in the deathship with his blade bloodied. Halfdan did not hate Harold for killing his mother; it was mercy, after all. In the following night, Halfdan was getting used to sleeping in his new room in the longhall until shouting was heard; a ship from afar was arriving. Harold awoke the other housecarls and dressed themselves before learning it was Toke, Gunhild’s son who was banished by Hrorik. Toke, who was a beserker, was returning. He landed his ship and demanded to see Hrorik; after learning that his step father was dead, he wanted to know from his mother Gunhild where his inheritience was, to which he learned that there was none, and that a fifth was going to Halfdan, the new legitimized boy. He left enraged before Harold could banish him again. Toke knew he was unwelcomed, even by his own mother. The following months were spent with Harold, as Halfdan learned how to duel and fight in a shield wall. It was soon before they went on a hunt, and when Halfdan could finally show his brother, who was gifted with the way of the sword, how to wield a bow. Unlike many, Halfdan knew how to hunt secretly thanks to Ube, the huntsman for the village. Most thralls were prohibited from even touching a bow, but Halfdan managed to learn and make one thanks to Ube. Many more would know his secret, mostly from the women who used the fares in the frequent feats, but none tattled of Halfdan. He would go to impress Harold with an amazing shot at a deer from a distant Harold thought impossible. He smiled. A Terrible Nightmare It was a night before Harold would announce that he and Halfdan were going to a farm across the great ford to lands Hrorik left for him in his will. They left in a smaller ship to see the new lands. Halfdan thought it unbelievable that a slave like him would become a free man and even own lands. All dreams, however, could always shatter. A night within the new longhall of the new lands an attack began. Harold and Halfdan awoke to a carl shouting that raiders had come. Without time to put on armor, Harold, eight of the carls, and Halfdan held at the door. Halfdan quickly took out three of the attackers trying to barge in, while four more were slain by the impromptu shield wall Harold commanded. It was then when a voice called out, “Surrender everything and come out!” Harold answered a no, to which the voice shouted back to light the place with torches and set the longhouse on fire. Harold would plead that the children and women would go, to which the voice agreed to, that Harold made him promise they would go unharmed. After they left, however, the voice yelled out, “Kill them all! Leave no survivors to this night!” Two of the carls went out in a frenzy, only to be slain moments later. Harold and Halfdan would go to the animal pens before the longhouse caught fire. They would drive away three beasts and hide behind four more with the remaining carls. The three beasts were chased and killed by missile fire and the attackers, buying enough time for the eight to escape. It wasn’t long until the raiders caught up to them, slaying the beasts with spears and arrows. They were quickly surrounded, before Harold shouted to Halfdan to run to the forest, and that he would cut him a way. Halfdan refused, until Harold grabbed him. “Someone needs to avenge us. Someone needs to tell the tale of Toke… That voice. It was Toke. Now go!” Harold indeed cut a path for Halfdan, and Halfdan ran as Harold brought down five more men before taking a single wound. Halfdan survived for days, being hunted by Toke’s men, alongside the nearby village who also hunted him, believing Toke’s lies of Haldfan being “a thief who killed Harold and the people here.” Halfdan knew the truth, however; it was Toke who killed them all. Halfdan needed to clear his name, and with the aid of Einar, who had hunted him, he would carve a rune to one day fulfill the oath. Category:Characters